Leccie cars may spark road ‘ tolls’
PLAN TO BOOST COFFERS
DRIVERS could be charged for using roads under plans to help boost the country’s coffers.
The move is being touted to cover a predicted shortfall of up to £ 40billion in revenue from road tax and fuel duty caused by the eventual switch to electric cars.
The UK currently only has one major toll road – the M6 Toll in the West Midlands – and drivers also face levies when using certain tunnels and bridges.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is “very interested” in the concept of a national road pricing scheme which would steer motorists into a “pay- as- you- drive” system.
But it is unclear exactly how the charges would be calculated.
A similar type of scheme was shelved by Labour in 2007 amid uproar that drivers could be charged up to £ 1.50 a mile.
Currently motorists pay 57.95p in fuel duty for each litre of petrol and diesel they buy – a figure which has been frozen since March 2011.
This brings in £ 28bn a year, or 1.3% of national income, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, while car tax also raises a substantial amount for the Treasury.
It has recently been reported a proposed ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will
be accelerated to 2030 as part of efforts to reach net- zero carbon emissions by 2050. Edmund King, president of the AA, said while electric vehicles were good for the environment, they are less so for the Exchequer.
He said: “The Government can’t afford to lose £ 40bn from fuel duty and car tax when the electric revolution arrives.
“It is always assumed that road pricing would be the solution but that has been raised every five years since 1964 and is still perceived by most as a ‘ poll tax on wheels’.”